Clair Obscur and PS dominate Game Awards 2025 Nominations

The Game Awards 2025 announced its full slate of nominees today, and the results set a new high-water mark for this annual industry ceremony.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive) leads the pack with an unprecedented 12 nominations, the most for any single game in the history of The Game Awards.

Sony Interactive Entertainment again tops the publisher list with the most nominations this year. The ceremony is scheduled to air live on December 11, 2025.

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The Games Awards 2025 nominees

GAME OF THE YEAR

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Donkey Kong Bananza — Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
• Hades II — Supergiant Games
• Hollow Knight: Silksong — Team Cherry
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — Warhorse Studios / Deep Silver

BEST GAME DIRECTION

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Ghost of Yōtei — Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Hades II — Supergiant Games
• Split Fiction — Hazelight Studios / EA

BEST NARRATIVE

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Ghost of Yōtei — Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — Warhorse Studios / Deep Silver
• Silent Hill f — NeoBards Entertainment / KONAMI

BEST ART DIRECTION

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Ghost of Yōtei — Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Hades II — Supergiant Games
• Hollow Knight: Silksong — Team Cherry

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC

• Christopher Larkin — Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
• Darren Korb — Hades II (Supergiant Games)
• Lorien Testard — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)
• Toma Otowa — Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Woodkid & Ludvig Forssell — Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

• Battlefield 6 — Battlefield Studios / EA
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Ghost of Yōtei — Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Silent Hill f — NeoBards Entertainment / KONAMI

BEST PERFORMANCE

• Ben Starr — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive)
• Charlie Cox — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive)
• Erika Ishii — Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions)
• Jennifer English — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive)
• Konatsu Kato — Silent Hill f (NeoBards Entertainment)
• Troy Baker — Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (MachineGames)

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY

• Assassin’s Creed Shadows — Ubisoft
• Atomfall — Rebellion
• Doom: The Dark Ages — id Software / Bethesda Softworks
• EA Sports FC 26 — EA Canada / EA Romania / EA
• South of Midnight — Compulsion Games / Xbox Game Studios

GAMES FOR IMPACT

• Consume Me — Jenny Jiao Hsia / AP Thomson / Hexacutable
• Despelote — Julián Cordero / Sebastián Valbuena / Panic
• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage — Don’t Nod Montreal / Don’t Nod
• South of Midnight — Compulsion Games / Xbox Game Studios
• Wanderstop — Ivy Road / Annapurna Interactive

BEST ONGOING GAME

• Final Fantasy XIV — Square Enix
• Fortnite — Epic Games
• Helldivers 2 — Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Marvel Rivals — NetEase Games
• No Man’s Sky — Hello Games

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT

• Baldur’s Gate 3 — Larian Studios
• Final Fantasy XIV — Square Enix
• Fortnite — Epic Games
• Helldivers 2 — Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• No Man’s Sky — Hello Games

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME

• Absolum — Guard Crush Games / Supamonks / Dotemu
• Ball x Pit — Kenny Sun / Devolver Digital
• Blue Prince — Dogubomb / Raw Fury
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
• Hades II — Supergiant Games
• Hollow Knight: Silksong — Team Cherry

BEST DEBUT INDIE GAME

• Blue Prince — Dogubomb / Raw Fury
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
• Despelote — Julián Cordero / Sebastián Valbuena / Panic
• Dispatch — AdHoc Studio
• Megabonk — Vedinad

BEST MOBILE GAME

• Destiny: Rising — NetEase Games
• Persona 5: The Phantom X — Black Wings Game Studio / Sega
• Sonic Rumble — Rovio Entertainment / Sega
• Umamusume: Pretty Derby — Cygames Inc.
• Wuthering Waves — Kuro Games

BEST VR / AR

• Alien: Rogue Incursion — Survios
• Arken Age — VitruviusVR
• Ghost Town — Fireproof Games
• Marvel’s Deadpool VR — Twisted Pixel Games / Oculus Studios
• The Midnight Walk — MoonHood / Fast Travel Games

BEST ACTION

• Battlefield 6 — Battlefield Studios / EA
• Doom: The Dark Ages — id Software / Bethesda Softworks
• Hades II — Supergiant Games
• Ninja Gaiden 4 — Platinum Games / Team Ninja / Xbox Game Studios
• Shinobi: Art of Vengeance — Lizardcube / Sega

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Ghost of Yōtei — Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks
• Hollow Knight: Silksong — Team Cherry
• Split Fiction — Hazelight Studios / EA

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BEST RPG

• Avowed — Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — Warhorse Studios / Deep Silver
• The Outer Worlds 2 — Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios
• Monster Hunter Wilds — Capcom

BEST FIGHTING

• 2XKO — Riot Games
• Capcom Fighting Collection 2 — Capcom
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves — SNK Corporation
• Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection — Digital Eclipse / Atari
• Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage — Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / Sega

BEST FAMILY

• Donkey Kong Bananza — Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
• LEGO Party! — SMG Studio / Fictions
• LEGO Voyagers — Light Brick Studios / Annapurna Interactive
• Mario Kart World — Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds — Sonic Team / Sega
• Split Fiction — Hazelight Studios / EA

BEST SIM / STRATEGY

• The Alters — 11 Bit Studios
• Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles — Square Enix
• Jurassic World Evolution 3 — Frontier Developments
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VII — Firaxis Games / 2K
• Tempest Rising — Slipgate Ironworks / 3D Realms
• Two Point Museum — Two Point Studios / Sega

BEST SPORTS / RACING

• EA Sports FC 26 — EA Canada / EA Romania / EA
• F1 25 — Codemasters / EA
• Mario Kart World — Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
• Rematch — Sloclap / Kepler Interactive
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds — Sonic Team / Sega

BEST MULTIPLAYER

• Arc Raiders — Embark Studios
• Battlefield 6 — Electronic Arts
• Elden Ring Nightreign — FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment
• Peak — Aggro Crab / Landfall
• Split Fiction — Hazelight / EA

BEST ADAPTATION

• A Minecraft Movie — Legendary Pictures / Mojang / Warner Bros
• Devil May Cry — Studio Mir / Capcom / Netflix
• The Last of Us: Season 2 — HBO / PlayStation Productions
• Splinter Cell: Deathwatch — FOST Studio / Ubisoft / Netflix
• Until Dawn — Screen Gems / PlayStation Productions

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

• 007 First Light — IO Interactive
• Grand Theft Auto VI — Rockstar Games
• Marvel’s Wolverine — Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Resident Evil Requiem — Capcom
• The Witcher IV — CD Projekt Red

CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR

• Caedrel
• Kai Cenat
• MoistCr1TiKaL
• Sakura Miko
• The Burnt Peanut

BEST ESPORTS GAME

• Counter-Strike 2 — Valve
• DOTA 2 — Valve
• League of Legends — Riot Games
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang — Moonton
• Valorant — Riot Games

BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE

• brawk (Brock Somerhalder) — Valorant
• Chovy (Jeong Ji-hoon) — League of Legends
• f0rsakeN (Jason Susanto) — Valorant
• Kakeru (Kakeru Watanabe) — Street Fighter
• MenaRD (Saul Leonardo) — Street Fighter
• Zyw0o (Mathieu Herbaut) — Counter-Strike 2

BEST ESPORTS TEAM

• Gen.G — League of Legends
• NRG — Valorant
• Team Falcons — DOTA 2
• Team Liquid PH — Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Team Vitality — Counter-Strike 2

Records and Notable Nomination Trivia

• Most-nominated game in TGA history: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with 12 nominations — a new record. Industry coverage and the official announcement flagged this as historic.
• Most-nominated publisher (2025): Sony Interactive Entertainment leads the publisher tally with the most nominations this year (reported at 19), followed by Kepler Interactive and Microsoft/Electronic Arts in the next tiers.
• Multiple nominations from one game in Best Performance: Clair Obscur placed three actors in the Best Performance category (Ben Starr, Charlie Cox, Jennifer English) — an unusually deep acting showing from a single title.

Repeat Nominees

Quick check of nomination histories for several high-profile nominees:

• Troy Baker — long-time game actor with a history of award nominations (including BAFTA/other game awards); he’s previously been nominated at major game award ceremonies and starred in games like the Last of Us and the Uncharted series.
• Darren Korb (composer) — a repeat nominee and award-winner in game audio circles (Bastion, Transistor, Hades era) and has prior Game Awards/industry nominations.
• Ben Starr — has prior recognition for Final Fantasy XVI (Golden Joystick, prior Game Awards mentions), so his TGA nomination builds on earlier industry attention.
• Erika Ishii and Jennifer English — both are established voice actors with award nominations and wins in other ceremonies and an expanding presence in high-profile games; some of the TGA attention is their highest-profile recognition in the Game Awards specifically.
• Content creators (Caedrel, Kai Cenat, MoistCr1TiKaL, Sakura Miko, The Burnt Peanut): several nominees (for example Kai Cenat and MoistCr1TiKaL) have been recognized at other industry/streaming award shows before, but these Game Awards 2025 nods represent some of their first appearances on the TGA ballot. Kai Cenat and MoistCr1TiKaL have notable award histories elsewhere (Streamy/Streamer Awards), while Sakura Miko is notable as at least the second Hololive member to be nominated at the TGAs.

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How the Nomination and Voting Process works

• Who picks the nominees: Nominations are compiled from ballots submitted by a voting jury consisting of well over 100 outlets — leading global media and influencer publications and creators — who cast ballots listing their top choices; the games that appear most frequently on ballots become nominees (the usual top five, but ties can expand categories). TheGameAwards publishes a list of jury organizations. (The Game Awards)
• How winners are decided: After nominees are set, winners are determined by a combined vote: the jury vote (industry/media jury) carries the majority weight, with a portion of the final result determined by the public (fan) vote. Historically the split for top categories has been roughly 90% jury / 10% public for Game of the Year-style awards.
• Specialized categories: Certain categories (esports awards, accessibility, Best Adaptation, etc.) are sometimes decided with additional specialized panels that include industry experts in those fields.

When and Where to Watch the Game Awards 2025

The Game Awards 2025 will stream live and free worldwide on an array of platforms.

YouTube, Twitch (now supporting a 2K co-stream option for creators), X, Steam, Facebook, TikTok Live, Instagram Live — and for 2025, Amazon Prime Video will also carry the stream.

The show is scheduled to kick off on December 11, 2025 (check local time zones). The Game Awards’ official “Watch” page lists platform links and embeds for viewers.

Twitch viewers should also watch for the announced Twitch Drops and co-streaming opportunities (The Game Awards has allowed thousands of creators to re-broadcast in prior years and confirmed enhanced co-stream support for 2025).